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Thursday, 20 September 2012

Moon Landing Pt. I

Ever since July 20th 1969, we have looked at
space travel in a completely different light. When Buzz and Neil touched down
for the very first time on the surface of the moon, we have never looked back.
From that point on, space has taken a different dynamic and we are motivated as
ever to explore even further into the realms of the cosmos. Since then, there
has been 6 manned-landings on the moon and many more unmanned.

The landing on the moon was an amazing feat of science and
engineering. Many people take for granted the effort that went into the
planning and finance of funding such an escapade. The physics behind it, was a
serious matter for concern. During the 60's we were working with the Newtonian
theory of gravity, where Isaac newton tried to explain the mechanics of
gravity. This piece of mathematics was good enough for NASA and other space
enthusiasts agencies to use this instead of the more modern theory of gravity or in
other words, Einstein's theory of general relativity, as that theory had not been
properly confirmed at the time.

Fig.1 The launch Pad for the Apollo rocket, with Neil, Buzz and Michael.

Credit: NASA Archives

Einstein's theory only corrected a few small
calculations of Newtons theory. But Newton was actually still good enough to utilize it as a viable mathematical model for space travel. In the short
distance to moon, in relative to the solar system and especially the galaxy.
The errors in Newtonian gravity were quite small. But would build up over time
and distance. Thus explaining the accuracy of the moon landing. But with
Einstein, space travel has been more accurate for Mars missions and
reconnaissance Satellites that are still traveling 1,000,000's of miles away
from home. One that comes to mind is the Voyager I, leaving the periphery of
our solar system and entering interstellar territory.

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Since this is not a personal blog, I will disclose very little about myself. I enjoy science and wish to make this site a vessel for scientific knowledge. I will not post up personal information of any sorts about myself (Facebook, Address Book etc.). Enjoy the journey.